Rise of Conflict
by TommyGun15
Summary: When Alex Mercer's reign of carnage interferes with Jackie Estacado's operation, Things begin to get ugly. Soon Cole McGrath steps In, in an attempt to reduce civilian casualties. But is this the real conflict, or just the start of something much more dangerous. Takes place between the darkness 1 & 2 and between Infamous 1 & 2. Disregards Prototype 2. AU May contain character death
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prototype, Infamous, or The Darkness. If I did, this would probably be a video game, not just a fanfiction.**

**Rise of Conflict**

Chapter 1

Ney York City, New York

A dark shape crouched in the shadow of an equally dark alley. The two men who walk causally past it were totally oblivious. They were focused on business tonight.

Both men wore suits, the older one brown, the younger one black. A casual observer might mistake them for lawyers, or businessmen. However a close inspection of their coats would reveal an odd weighted object concealed upon their persons. These men were armed, and their purpose tonight was... well, less than legal.

The younger of the two was a skinny man by the name of Joe, with a smart mouth and an itchy trigger finger, the result of watching one too many gangster movies in his youth. He had joined the mob for the "thrills" and was always urging to end any debate with lead. His associate was an older man in his late forties, who went by Marley. He was only really on this job to ensure Joe didn't muck things up too bad. Thirty years in this business had turned him cold, cynical, and more than a bit suspicious. He'd rather be home, reading a book in his recliner. Instead he was out slogging through the grim of the big city.

"Hey, where is this shmuck, he was supposed to be here" Joe complained. "When I find that Little weasel I ought a..." Marley tuned Joe out, walking ahead of him. Of course the bum hadn't shown up, that would be convenient. The boss wouldn't be happy about this. The kid was young enough to be his son, why was he in charge? Well, Marley didn't make the decisions, so he would keep his mouth shut, and do what he was told to do, that was probably what's best, for him at least.

_**CRUNCH!**_

Marley heard the sound of something hard snapping behind him. He spun around, drawing his firearm in the practiced motion of someone who'd done it many times before. He leveled it at the source of the noise... Joe. "what are you doing back there Joe?" He half expected some snarky comment about his mom, instead Joe just walked up to him, glaring like a animal. Marley got nervous "Joe?" he mumbled in a frightened voice. Like lightning Joe's hand shot out and wrapped around Marley's neck "Joe, put me down!" Marley exclaimed, panicked. Suddenly Joe's form shifted in a mass of red and black tendrils, turning into a young man in a black leather jacket over a gray hoodie. Marley began to scream, the his voice died off as an iron-like grip tightened around his throat.

The man in the jacket stalked out of the alley. all that he left behind him was a series of bloodstains, and two handguns, lying on the pavement.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Yeah... I own nothing, sorry.**

Chapter 2

Jackie Estacado's Penthouse, NYC

Jackie Estacado leaned on his desk. "Perfect" he muttered. He'd just gotten word that two more of his men had been killed last night.

"Do we know what suicidal idiot has been messing with our collections" This had been the third reported attack today, and Jackie was getting frustrated. Even sending out people in pairs to collect money hadn't solved things. He'd already lost over $10,000 in the last week. It was starting to get to him.

"Sorry boss." Jimmy replied "We ain't got a single lead, this guy isn't even leaving bodies behind. It's like these guy are disappearing off the face of the earth. All we can find is guns and blood." The older man who was one of Jackie's best advisors had a hopeless look on his face. "It can't be one of the other families, there's no way they could make a move like this without us knowing about it.""But who would have the resources to do this on their own?" Jackie pondered. "I wish I could say," Jimmy said "but like I said, we got no leads."

Jackie couldn't believe this. It had been 2 years since he had taken down his backstabbing uncle Paulie. A year after that he had managed to get some... issues, sorted out. Suddenly he had a splitting headache, and a voice in his head whispered in a voice that ranged from deep guttural

_**Set us free Jackie. **_

_**We can destroy them together!**_

Speaking of issues, there was The Darkness. The very night Paulie tried to have Jackie killed, he'd inherited the darkness, a primordial being of pure, you guessed it, darkness. It ran in his family, ever since WWI, when his great grandfather had let it into their family line. He'd been keeping it under control for the past year, but when he got angry, it became difficult, and the recent strain on his temper had been a real challenge.

"Send the families some flowers, and my condolences" he told Jimmy, "I need some time to think." Jimmy nodded, and left the room. The Darkness wasn't really a secret, Jimmy knew that his boss still had trouble with it from time to time. When that happened, it was best to give him some space.

Jimmy shut the door and locked it. Almost as soon as the door closed, Jackie collapsed on the ground. The world flashed and spun, then went black.

* * *

Everything was black, he stood in the single point of light, like the spotlight on a stage. Something was moving just beyond his field of view.

_**You need us Jackie. Without us you are NOTHING!**_

"I DON'T NEED YOU!" Jackie screamed "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CONTROL ME!" his body was wracked with pain, he doubled over, as if punched.

_**Learn your place mortal. I am master here, and you will always be my puppet.**_

Jackie felt himself slipping, there was only one way he could think of to help him. He thought of Jenny.

* * *

Jenny had always been the one bright spot in his miserable existence. Not too long after Paulie started trying to kill him, he'd killed Jenny, thinking it would make Jackie lose hope. Instead it had hardened his resolve, and any mercy Paulie might have gotten was gone.

Since Paulie's death, thinking of her was the one thing that helped him keep The Darkness in check. His Aunt Sarah said it was unhealthy, but he wasn't going to just forget her.

* * *

The light in the dark room grew a bit brighter, and The Darkness screamed in pain. Jackie felt the dark become more oppressive, malevolent. The Darkness hissed at him.

_**You cannot hide behind her forever. One day I WILL be free again, and you will be the one to unleash me.**_

Jackie vision darkened once again.

Jackie woke up on the floor. He was drenched in sweat, and shaking. He managed to stumble out of his office, up the stairs, and into his room. He paused at a small drawer on the floor across from his bed. He Took a long sad look at the photos of Jenny on top of it, then lit a match, and relit the candle next to the pictures. Then he took a shower, got in bed, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Location Unknown, NYC

The man in the jacket sat on a bench in an abandoned subway stop, sifting through his mind, searching for information. Suddenly, he smiled a chilling crocodile grin. He'd found what he was looking for.

He'd be paying Jackie Estacado a visit, very soon.

* * *

Please Review, it raises my moral, thus increasing my update speed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. **

Chapter 3

Alex Mercer sat on a bench outside of a fancy restaurant, "dressed" as a 30 year old man in a green shirt. It was the kind of high-end place people go to either on dates, or just to show off their status. Normally he wouldn't be within a 10 radius of a place like this. Tonight however, he was waiting for someone. The thugs he had been consuming in the past week were almost clueless, they knew who they were working for, but nothing about his life, hobbies, or even what he looked like. Then he got some useful information.

The old guy he'd consumed the other night hadn't known much about who he worked for either, at least, not on a personal level. But he'd gotten 3 pieces of useful information. First, a name. He'd already known that, but it was always good to check your facts. Second, a face. It was actually amazing how few of these guys had actually _seen_ who they worked for. Finally, and perhaps most helpfully, a location. Specifically, Jackie's favorite restaurant. He had dinner here at least once a week.

Most of the time he wouldn't waste an entire three weeks on one person. This guy however had the misfortune of getting on his bad side, and in this case things were personal.

* * *

1 Month Ago

Alex had been walking down the street. He was out buying groceries. Since New York had almost been nuked he'd been laying low, officially he didn't exist, and he'd been living with his sister, Dana Mercer. He hadn't consumed any people so lately, but let's just say people had been advised by the police to keep their pets either inside, or on a leash.

As he was making his way home, at normal human speed and muttering unhappily all the way, his cell phone rang. He carefully held his groceries in one hand whilst pulling out his phone. "What Dana?" He asked. "Alex, come home quick. There are these strange men trying to get in." Dana told him. Suddenly he heard a loud crack over the phone. "Alex, HELP!"

Alex dropped the bags he was carrying and sped Down the street, running at least 40 MPH. He pushed past people, vaulted over cars and wove around buildings. In 10 minutes he was home. He found the door hanging off the frame, splintered. Inside Dana was lying on the floor, unconscious. "Dana!" he exclaimed, picking her up and placing her in a chair. Her face was bruised, and her eye was a dark purple. "Alex?" she whispered. "Dana, what happened, who did this to you?" Alex asked. "Alley down the street... blue car... Estacado." she mumbled in a daze. Alex's face was grim.

* * *

Once he made sure Dana was going to be fine, he checked all the alleys in the street. Eventually he found one with a man leaning on a blue sports car. He casually walked up to the man. "Hey," The Man shouted "You want to use this street you gotta pay the toll." "I wasn't aware there was a toll" Alex said sarcastically. "Oh, think you're funny do ya," The Man said. He pulled out a knife, "Now pay up wise guy." "Nice knife," Alex said, sarcastic as ever, "want to see mine?" Then he morphed his arm into a huge blade. The Man panicked and ran. Alex quickly caught and consumed him. He found out that the people who'd hurt Dana worked for someone named Estacado. He also learned that there were some men going to collect some money later that night.

* * *

From there Alex infiltrated Jackie's operation, trying to find leads. And finally, after weeks of searching he was here, sitting outside of this restaurant waiting for Jackie to show up. A black limousine pulled up in front of the door. A skinny man, about 23 stepped out. That was him! Alex quietly shifted back to his natural form, a grey hoodie under a black leather jacket. Once Jackie had been inside a few minutes he walked up to the entrance. The greeter asked him, "Do you have a reservation sir?" Alex shoved him had into the wall, there was an audible crack as his spine splintered. "There's my reservation," Alex said.

He stomped into the dining room. "Jackie Estacado!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The room fell silent, every head turned in his direction. "Perfect," he thought, "You hurt my sister, and now... I'M HERE TO KILL YOU!"

* * *

Please review, it really does motivate me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.**

**Also, sorry I haven't updated recently, getting sick sucks.**

**By the way, from now on I will be notifying the point of view, because there is a POV change in this chapter**

* * *

Chapter 4

Jackie's POV

Jackie had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. The recent killings that had gone on for so long had simply just... stopped. This past week there had been reports of more and more deaths,

every

single

day.

This morning however, everything seemed fine. No people disappearing, no money lost, he'd even found some new people to help him with certain, unusual jobs. All of which naturally meant that things were about to get seriously screwed up today. There wasn't a single clue about who could be messing with them, but Jackie was sure of one thing, they were planning something BIG.

"Here we are," his driver reported, pulling up beside the restaurant. Jackie stepped out of his limousine, and into the street. He felt nervous, like someone was watching him. He shook the feeling off and entered the building. His people tried to make small talk, but he paid them little attention. He let his mind wander blankly as he sat at his table.

"Jackie Estacado! You hurt my sister, and now... I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

Jackie turned around, both offended, and confused. Standing in front of the entrance was a man in a jacket, and a hoodie. Jackie couldn't decide which was more unbelievable, that he had no weapons, or that he was completely alone. He stood up and walked over, Vinny and Tony following.

"Your here to kill me, 'eh, Jackie said, "Just who do you think you are?" The Man said nothing, he just glared unnerving. "Vinny, Tony, see this idiot out, then beat him to within an inch of his life." Tony and Vinny moved to seize The Man, but when they grabbed him he shoved both of them back. They both crashed into tables bruised but alive. The Man grabbed Jackie and began to crush his throat. Jackie, acting purely on instinct, drew his gun and shot The Man between the eyes.

* * *

Alex's POV

"This guy Jackie is tougher than he looks," Alex thought, "Pretty fast to," that bullet between the eyes was just unexpected enough to make Alex drop Jackie in surprise. He wasn't hurt though, being shot in the face was something he'd gotten used to. He decided that it would be more satisfying to knock Jackie around a bit before killing him. He fell into his basic combat stance, dashing forward at Jackie. He was so stunned by his sudden regeneration that Jackie almost didn't dodge in time... almost.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

Jackie's POV

"He the heck had he done that?" That was the question flaring through Jackie's mind. This man had first knocked out two of his guys with one hit, then almost killed him. After being shot IN THE HEAD he'd regenerated, and now he was vaulting around the place like a madman, throwing chairs and tables at him hard enough to shatter them into dust on impact. There was no doubt in his mind that The Man could smash him like an egg if he wished. Jackie knew he was toying with him.

_**Use my power Jackie, use it or die.**_

Oh, and just to top it off, his own personal voice in his head was back. That wasn't going to help. There was no way he was giving in to The Darkness, he could beat this guy.

He pulled out his second gun and began firing at The Man. A few lucky shots hit, but the most were nowhere near his target. Eventually he was down to two magazines, one for each gun. Jackie decided to save them for if he got a better shot. He picked up a table leg than hadn't been completely obliterated and held it like a baseball bat. The Man seemed to know what his new strategy was and dashed forward, snatching him up again.

Jackie hit him on the head, snapping the table leg. The man didn't even slow down. Then he drew a gun again, putting three more bullets in The Man's head, to no effect. The Man was running towards the kitchen, his head regenerating, the bullet wounds closing back up again. Then The Man stopped, and hurled Jackie through the air. He crashed into the wall feeling a loud crack. The force of the impact caused the lights to flicker, then die. Then the wall collapsed on top of him.

_**RELEASE ME! USE MY POWER!**_

Jackie's could feel that his back had broken. He knew that as things stood, he would die a horrible death. The Man dug him out of the rubble his hand wrapping around his throat. "So, this is it 'eh?" Jackie thought. The Man glared at him again, and said, "I expected more, all that time wasted looking for you, gathering information from your people, I'm disappointed." Jackie's mind went blank, only screaming one sentence at him, "IT WAS HIM." Jackie felt his blood boil, his vision flash red. THIS was the one killing his men, ruining his business. He might die, but he would take this guy out with him.

So he let The Darkness take him.

_**FREE! FREE AT LAST!**_

* * *

It was like a getting a shot of adrenaline, while drinking about a gallon of pure caffeine. Jackie felt power course through his veins, power both thrilling, and horrifying. Black armor encased his skin, his vision sharpened till he could see perfectly in the dim light of the kitchen, his broken bones shifted back into place mending in seconds. He felt two serpentine head snake out from his back, one with a strong powerful jaw made of stone, the other with several sharp blades coming out of its neck and long sharp teeth. He had, on some level, missed this power.

The Man was staring, not moving at all. That was just fine, he could kill him easier that way. The serpent heads vomited up a swarm of insects that flew into The Man's face, blinding and choking him. A black tentacle shot out and impaled The Man, pinning him to the wall. The two serpent heads then held his shoulders, and Jackie drew his guns, channeling dark energy into them. He aimed for The Man's head, and emptied both guns into his head. Then the sharp-toothed head let go and swung out, decapitating The Man. Jackie let the remains go, and walked out of the kitchen.

When he got back to the dining room Vinny and Tony were back on their feet. "Whoa, Boss!" Vinny shouted "Glad to see your okay. Looks like you took care of that guy, brought out the old Estacado mojo on him. "Glad to see you two are okay," Jackie replied, The Darkness melting away, "Tony, go get the car. Let's get out of here."

Jackie got in his limo, glad that nightmare was finally over, but uneasy about the new nightmare that he knew would now begin.

* * *

In the kitchen, the severed head on the floor began to reform.

* * *

As the limo pulled away, lighting flashed as it began to rain. Silhouetted against the night sky was a lone man, standing on the rooftop. Lightning seems to crackle in his hands.

* * *

**Whoa, I had to rewrite this at least twice. The first two takes stunk. Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, just the plot.**

**P.S. Sorry I didn't update for a while, writer's block stinks. Anyway, the reason this took so long was I've tried to lengthen my chapters.**

* * *

Chapter 5

The restaurant

Cole's POV

Cole McGrath kneeled before the victim's corpse. There was no positive way to identify the victim, not when his face was kind of, missing. Actually, there seemingly wasn't a head at all. Just a charred stump.

Cole had rushed there after his friend Zeke, who'd been monitoring the police scanners, had called in about a fight at a restaurant on fifth. The murderer was nowhere in sight, however the result of the conflict was plain to see. The dining room had been destroyed, the wall in the kitchen had been smashed, and the victim looked like a bomb had gone off in this face.

Cole placed his hand on the victim's... stump. Channeling electricity into it caused as ghostly green imprint of the last person to see the victim appear before him. It was a being out of a nightmare, with dark rock-like armor and twin snake heads coming out of its back.

Cole got up to follow it, but his hand stuck to the victim's head-stump. He gave a few good tugs and finally his hand was free, although a sticky black substance clung to his hand. He burned it off with some electricity and began to follow the imprint. Then, of course, he tripped.

Cole stood, looking down on what he'd tripped on. It was... a head. That was strange, he could have sworn that there was no head five minutes ago. Yet here it was, plain as day. The head was still burnt and mangled-looking, so there was still no way to discern the victim's identity, but there was no mistaking it. _"Well,"_ Cole thought, _"that was weird" _But he still had a job to do. He got up and followed the imprint.

It lead him through the dining room, past the destroyed tables, and out of the building, where it retracted its armor and snake heads. It then stepped towards the street and disappeared. "So he got in a car," Cole inferred. "So what am I going to do now?" Cole had no choice, he would have to leave and hope that another lead surfaced. Until then it was just business as usual. Cole decided to go home and think.

* * *

Jackie's Penthouse

Jackie's POV

Jackie sat behind his desk. What was he going to do? With the darkness back out, he was going to have to fight it inch by inch for his sanity. He needed help, someone who was an expert on obscure myths and crackpot conspiracy theories.

"Get me Johnny Powell"

"On it boss, I'll send the new guys." Vinny said walking out of his office. That crazy doc would have an answer, or at least, he'd better. Till then, he just had to keep calm and avoid stress until this, thing, was under control again.

"Boss, what now? is it business as usual again?" Jimmy asked. "Well, first we've got to make it clear we are back in charge. If it gets out that one man could cause so much damage to our operation, it could ruin us. Send some men out to collect money from some debtors... and they don't have to be gentle."

Jimmy turned and left.

_**It Is futile. Nothing will contain us now. You will forever be my puppet.**_

Jackie clutched the sides of his head, and (for the second time in as many days) sank to the floor.

* * *

The restaurant

Third Person POV

Two paramedics walked over the wreckage of the restaurant. "Yeesh, did a bomb go of here?" one asked.

"No, two people were fighting."

"Just two?"

"Yep, I heard that one of them just showed up with a bazooka or something."

"Oh, that's a lie."

"Well, true or not, lets collect the body."

They made their way through the rubble over to the remains of the kitchen, stopping when they saw the body.

"It's in better shape than I thought it'd be."

The body was barely scratched. It didn't have any major wounds, aside from a few hole in it, likely gunshot wounds.

"Well, let's load it up.

* * *

Cole and Zeke's Apartment

Cole's POV

Cole landed on the roof of his apartment, frustrated. The lack of leads left him angry, he'd never felt much more powerless, except possibly when he was in a blackout zone.

"Hey Cole." Zeke said. Zeke had been Cole best friend since high school, and often was willing to give him whatever help he could. During the Ray Sphere fiasco Zeke had gotten selfish, and tried to set off the Ray Sphere again, in trying to gain powers.

The Ray Sphere. A device of horror and destruction. When it activates, all the neuro-electric energy of any normal person in the area would be drained from them (destroying them and most other solid objects) and transferred to the nearest person with the Conduit gene. In other words, the more normal people in range, and the less Conduits in range, the more powerful the Conduit would be. Thankfully, the device could only be set off by a Conduit.

Zeke, being a normal person, didn't gain powers, and disaster had been averted. However, he then left with Kessler, who almost destroyed the city. When Kessler Killed Trish, Cole girlfriend, Zeke blamed himself. He usually seemed his normal self, but there were times when Cole had caught him staring off into space, muttering to himself guiltily. Cole didn't think Zeke would do anything drastic, but then again, he'd never thought Zeke could betray him either. These thoughts worried Cole.

"Hey Zeke," was Cole's only reply. He walked over to the couch they left on the roof and sat down next to Zeke.

"So... how goes the crime-fighting?" Zeke asked, trying to start a conversation.

"No leads" Cole mumbled, still frustrated, "the victim is unidentifiable, the suspect left in a car leaving no physical evidence, so there is no way to find him, and to top it all off, there were no witnesses willing to talk, so either it was a restaurant where they make everyone where blindfolds and ear plugs, or something's got these people scared. Anyway, how about you?"

"Well, I met this cute blonde girl at the bar today, but she was there with her boyfriend, so I barely got out without a serious pounding, a car almost hit me on the street, and the T.V. is dead again."

"I'll get that" Cole replied to the unasked question. He raised his hand and sent a bolt of electricity through the television. It sparked and flickered to life.

"Thanks man." Zeke said.

"Any time Zeke" Cole told him.

So they watched T.V., as the sky began to darken.

* * *

The City Morgue

Alex's POV

When Alex woke up, he was in darkness. He looked around a bit before realizing he was in the morgue again.

"Why is it always a morgue?" he asked himself.

When he had tried to learn about Jackie, he'd figured the constant rumors about him having dark powers was just a myth. The sort of thing peons spread about their bosses to explain why they had all the power, or that the bosses spread to keep peons in line.

Nevertheless, Jackie wasn't going to catch Alex off guard again. This time though, he would send Jackie a little message. There was rage behind Jackie's attack, and if he knew Alex was still alive he'd probably come looking for him. Even if he didn't come after him in person, the people he sent would probably be able to lead him to where Jackie lived.

Alex then proceeded to kick out the door on his cell, and wreak havoc.

* * *

**I would just like to say thank you to the people who reviewed my story. Some times when I'm stuck it really helps me keep writing. So thank you all. **

** Sincerely,**

** TommyGun15.**

**P.S. I have posted a poll on my profile page, give it a look.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but the story is all mine.**

**Also, please visit my profile page, I have a poll there. Please vote today, because I am closing the poll on Thanksgiving. So fair warning, I won't be updating until the poll is closed, although, if I get enough votes on the poll, I might be swayed to update sooner.**

**Chapter 6**

A Public Safety Alert

"Good morning New York. This is an important announcement. Earlier today a call was made to the police, requesting immediate action. Here we have a recording of the phone call made

_(A Man's voice Speaks, it rings with panic)_

_Hello Nine-One-One, send help. There's a madman running lose, he's destroying everything! He's killing people with his bare hands! What? No, no, stay away! _

_NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGG GGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!_

_( A new voice speaks over the phone, a man's voice, dark sounding and sinister.)_

_Come and get me._

_(The call ends abruptly)_

When the police arrived the building was destroyed. Most of the staff were injured or dead, and all the security cameras had been smashed. However, one of them was able to pick up the following image before it's destruction.

(The image shows a man in a leather jacket and gray hoodie, staring into the camera.)

Police have identified this man as the infamous bioterrorist Alex Mercer, who was responsible for the viral outbreak last year, which claimed the lives of over ten-thousand people. The military is being mobilized, and an eight-o-clock curfew has been established. Violators are to be detained, and tested for infection, incase Mercer attempts to start another pandemic. Authorities also advise people to lock their doors, bar their windows, and to not go out alone. Further news coverage will be available as this story develops.

Jackie's Penthouse

Jackie's POV

"WHAT!"

Jackie was storming around the room, knocking things over and shouting obscenities. Evidently staying calm was no longer on the agenda.

_**Yes. Use your rage Jackie, go and claim your revenge.**_

That jarred him. Jackie stopped his storming and leaned on the desk.

" Got to stay calm. I can't let The Darkness control me."

He left his office and went into the barroom. He sat down at the bar next to Frank and Eddie, who were having one of their usual conversations about, well, whatever happened to come up really. Today's topic was Eddie's wife, who happened to also be Frank's sister.

"Frank, I love her dearly, but sometimes your sister is a real dragon."

"You think I don't know that. I grew up with her!"

Jackie walked past them, picked up a glass, and poured himself a glass of wine. He sipped on it solemnly, wondering how to take care of his current problem. Frank and Eddie stopped their conversation and looked at him, worried. "Don't worry Boss. You'll think of something." Frank told him. "Yeah Boss," Eddie chimed in, "I've never seen you fail when you put your mind to something."

Jackie stared at the two men, both happy to see their faith in him, and slightly alienated by it. "Uhh, thanks? I guess. See you guys." Jackie then finished his wine and made his way back to his office. On his way there, Vinny stopped him. "Jackie, we found Johnny Powell."

Meanwhile

Cole and Zeke's Apartment

Cole's POV

"Cole."

"Cole."

"COLE!"

Cole woke up to Zeke shouting in his face. "What?" he asked Zeke. "Check out the news" Zeke said, turning up the volume on the T.V.

"Police have identified this man as the infamous bioterrorist Alex Mercer, who was responsible for the viral outbreak last year."

"Looks pretty serious." Zeke muttered. Cole however, was on his feet and racing for the edge of the building, where he jumped onto a power line and sped away.

Alex's POV

Alex Mercer stood outside a hospital. It wasn't very special, or that well-known. It did, however, have one special quality.

This was the hospital his sister was in.

After Jackie's thugs had broken in, Alex ran Dana to the hospital. It was there that she had spent the past few weeks recovering. At first it had seemed safe enough, but the military was moving in, and soon would follow his worst enemy, Blackwatch.

Blackwatch, a ruthless paramilitary group that would stop at nothing to kill him, steal the virus, and weaponize it. If that happened it could cause a bio-war that would most likely wipe out humanity. The only reason they weren't being hunted by the government was that they were a part of it. So Alex had to fight them alone. Now that he had been found though, they would be here, and he had to get Dana out before the fighting started.

He realized that the door was opening, and Dana was coming out side. "Dana," Alex shouted. She walked over to him and frowned. "Alex, what did you do? The police are looking for you, again. You know who is going to come looking for you." "I know, that's why your leaving."

Then, before she could object, Alex picked Dana up bridal style, and ran for the Lincoln Tunnel. He didn't stop until he reached New Jersey. Once New York wasn't even within sight, he put Dana down.

"What are you doing?" she asked, with barely controlled anger. "Look," Alex told her, "like you said, Blackwatch will be on my tail, and until their gone again I need to know your safe. Just, find a hotel, keep your head down, and stay safe. Promise me."

Dana looked at him, her face a mix of anger and concern. She sighed, and nodded. "I promise." she mumbled.

Alex sped back towards the city.

Meanwhile

Jackie's Penthouse

Jackie's POV

Jackie slowly walked into his trophy room. Johnny Powell was tied to a chair in the middle of it, with The Chief standing next to him, giving Johnny his signature silent death glare. Johnny was shaking in his seat, his eyes darting around like a cornered animal. When he saw Jackie coming he began to hyperventilate slightly.

"W-w-well Jackie, considering that your here, a-a-and I'm still alive, Y-you don't plan on k-killing me, you know, yet."

Jackie looked at the small, stuttering man. When Jackie had first met him, Johnny had seemed like a smart guy, but now... Any way he had business to attend to.

"Johnny, I need your help, I let the Darkness out and-" " You did WHAT?" Johnny shouted "Do you have a death wish? That, thing will kill you." "I know, but I need it to defeat Alex Mercer."

Johnny looked shocked. "Alex Mercer? The guy that started that huge virus a year ago? I thought he was dead." "Well, I was out-of-town. Soon as I heard of trouble, I packed my bags and headed on a vacation to Chicago." "Well, I'll tell you, it was a nightmare. Let's just pray it never happens again and leave it at that. So anyway, what's your beef with him?" "He's been ruining my business." "Well I can tell you that The Darkness isn't really an option for you. It would take over your body and destroy you."

Jackie thought a moment. If The Darkness was the only way to kill Mercer, but he couldn't use it, what could he do? Then he got an idea.

"Chief, untie Johnny." Jackie instructed, walking out of the room. When he got to the foyer he saw Vinny about to leave.

"Vinny!" Jackie shouted, "find the new guys. Tell them I've got a job for them.

**Well, there you have it. Please read and review, and don't forget to vote.**


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